The Origin and Evolution of the Domestic Cat 7
● The domestication process might have been further assisted by people capturing,
adopting and taming kittens, a process that still occurs today in some primitive
societies such as Amazonian tribes, who capture and make pets of various jungle
species (Serpell, 2014).
Ancient Egypt – the hub of domestication
The beginnings of domestication may have taken place in other areas of the Near and
Middle East but most evidence of large-scale domestication comes from ancient Egypt.
There are many ancient Egyptian pictorial and hieroglyphic references to cats. In
the earliest illustrations and hieroglyphs there was rarely any lexicographical discrim-
ination between wild or domestic cats, or between the different species of wildcats.
Therefore, it is often unclear if the cats depicted were wild or domesticated (Malek,
1993). During the Middle Kingdom period (2025–1606 bc), however, cats began to be
depicted in association with people and a set of hieroglyphs translated as ‘miw’ start to
appear indicating the domestic cat. Later, during the New Kingdom period (1539–1070 bc)
illustrations of cats in domestic situations increased to where they appear to have
become an accepted part of everyday life (Serpell, 1988; Filer, 1995; Bradshaw, 2013).
Historical Attitudes Towards Cats
Human attitudes towards cats have varied tremendously throughout history, from
being highly revered in ancient Egypt to being subjected to widespread hatred and
persecution throughout much of Europe from the Middle Ages and beyond.
The Cat in the Ancient Egyptian religion
Animals played an important part in Egyptian religion. The Egyptians did not, as is
commonly thought, worship the animal itself but they believed that the gods could
manifest themselves as animals; they therefore considered members of a species associ-
ated with a god or goddess to be representations of, and be imbued with, the spirit of
that deity. The cat had other godly associations but became particularly associated with
the goddess Bastet. Bastet represented fertility, child bearing, general care, nurturing and
protection, which made her a very popular goddess with the masses who suffered high
levels of child mortality and a generally high death rate. Her role as a nurturing mother
figure also made her a deity of choice for anyone seeking help and comfort.
European attitudes to cats from the Middle Ages and beyond
Attitudes to cats in early medieval Western Europe appear to have been positive or at
least benign. They were highly valued for their rodent-killing ability and although
English bishops tried to ban other animals being kept in nunneries and monasteries,
they allowed, even encouraged, the keeping of cats, from where there are also records
that they were occasionally kept as fond companions (Newman, 1992). Celtic monks